Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa H.B.K.) and cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) are important raw materials, which constitute the basis of subsistence for those who live in the Amazon region. Due to a total lack of incentive for their use by the national food industry, this study aimed at processing Brazil nuts to obtain the nuts and the meal and at processing cassava to obtain the flour, studying the quality parameters which could justify and encourage their use. The absence of aflatoxin in both the nuts and meal indicated the high quality of the Brazil nuts with respect to food safety. The presence of a selenium content of 2.04mg/Kg in the nut and 7.13mg/Kg in the meal, a food fiber content of 8.02% in the nut, 15.72% in the meal and 5.68% in the flour, a protein content of 40.23% in the meal and carbohydrate content of 79.33% in the flour allowed for the characterization of products based on the nut as high protein, rich in selenium and fiber and of the cassava as rich in carbohydrate and fiber. The protein of the nut is complete and rich in sulfur amino acids and contains all the essential amino acids, some with values greater than and others equal to, the FAO standards. Due to these contents of amino acids, selenium and fiber, the consumption of the Brazil nut and derivatives should be encouraged due to their relevant functions with respect to human health.
Brazil nuts; protein; amino acid; selenium; fiber
